Wild, Windy and Minging in Glencoe

There has been a massive amount of snow over the last couple of days.  This has made getting to any climbs difficult, and potentially dangerous.  With another day of snow and high winds, Ambrose and I went to the Zigzags to find a few different pitches to climb.  The day started off ok, with a wade up even though the team in front were breaking trail (good effort Scales).  As we kitted up, the wind started to make an appearance every now and again.  By the time we had waded around the first zig, the wind had really joined the party.  Ambrose and I exchanged leads up the Zigzags I, and then Zigzags Direct III as the weather continued to worsen.  By 13:30 it was starting to feel apocalyptic, and all teams in the area bailed rapidly.

As we got back the path we saw a sizeable avalanche come down the North West Face of Beinn Fada and into the gorge.  We then heard another shortly after.  It was another challenging day on the hill.

Zigzag Direct

Everyone bails

Wild as we walk out

A Couple of Days on the CIC

I have been up in the CIC hut Sunday and today with Alex, enjoying some of the wild weather and ridiculous amounts of snow.

We walked in on Sunday and dropped our kit at the hut and had a brew, before heading out for a route.  The conditions dictate staying low, so we chose Gutless IV,5** on the Douglas Boulder, which is a bit nippy for the grade.  An easy snow/ice pitch took us quickly to the first belay.  Then another steep ice step led to the chimney proper.  This was a real thrutch fest.  Not one to do with a rucksack.  The exit out the chimney is interesting at the moment, with 85 degree snow, leading to a soft finish to reach the belay.  The rest is straight forward to the top.  It was a wild day and Alex had a raw winter experience again.

Approching the belay after the chimney of Gutless

Pitch 1 of the Curtain

Spindrift

Approaching the 2nd belay.  Check out the buried hut on the right

Today we grabbed a short route as Alex was suffering from a couple of days of really poor sleep.  We cruised us The Curtain IV,5**** which was in good condition.  The first pitch is it's usual snowy solo, but there were good screws to be had after that.  There was an unusual amount of snow on Ledge Route where snow and spindrift has settled.  Add this to the metre of snow that fell on the summits last night, which would have had an impact as well.  It took a fair bit managing to get back into No.5 which was no different to a couple of days ago.  With more snow on the way, it's only going to get more interesting.

Spectre

Today I was out with Alex for the first of 3 days climbing and we headed up to SCNL to see what was on offer.  I was hoping to do both Spectre V,6 and Scabbard Chimney V,6, both things were a little raw up there today.  Snow fell all day on a strongish wind, and we had a lot of spindrift piling down on us too.  That said Spectre was in easy condition to climb as it is an ice route, but not a lot of gear though.  I did find good belays.  We did 3 quick pitches then abseiled off and ran away quickly.  The temperature had risen slightly, and neither of us wanted to be on the aprons again.  We cut our loses, having done a nice route and headed down.  It was still snowing as we left the corrie, and then raining as we lost height.  I would expect it to be another interesting day tomorrow finding things to climb.

Alex enjoying himself despite the ming!

We will be on the Ben for the next 2 days, with a night in the hut.  So I'll catch up when we get back down on Monday.

Centurion Take 2

A very icy pitch 1

Matt and I walked back up the Ben today aiming to have another bash at Centurion VIII,8***.  It was clear as we approached the route that it was even whiter than last week, and getting gear was going to be challenging as it was pretty icy.  We opted to take the same pitches as last time, hoping that a bit of familiarity would speed things up.  This definitely worked and we where through the crux pitch quickly.  After consultation with a guide book it appeared I never went the right way on the 3rd after all.  This time I did, and it all went to plan across the thin and bold traverse, as we continued to make steady and relatively speedy progress.  Matt then dispatched the steep crack on the 4th pitch.  We then just ran the rope out up the rest of Route II, which was plastered in a mixture of neve and cruddy ice.  This put us on Ledge route in good time and we walked down that.  It was nice to be back down to the van in day light after a stella day climbing.

As a picture paints a thousand words, here a few.

Matt making speedy progress despite the mass of clearing needed

Still hard going even after Matt had cleaned it

The wild and thin traverse on pitch 3

Matt approaching the belay on pitch 3

Charging up the overhanging crack on pitch 4

A cheecky photo as we reach the easy ground on Route II

centurion take 2 from Adam Hughes on Vimeo.

North Buttress

Today I was back out with Steve and Ed, but no Frankie.  The aim was to get them of a challenging route, so North Buttress VI,4*** on the Buachaille was a great option today.  We arrived at the start of the route at the same time as another party, who kindly let us lead off first.  The climb was in awesome condition after a freeze last night.  First time neve placements and bomber hook meant the guys made short work seconding the pitches.  We switched tactics after the hard pitches, which meant we flew to the top pretty quickly.  There were a few funky pockets around as we made are way to the summit that needed a little care, and there was a lot of snow continuing to blow into those areas.

A bit wintery

Ed loving the stella conditions

After a quick chocolate bar on the summit we picked are way through the partial white room down to the col, before heading up and down the ridge.  This too has a lot of snow on it, but was ok for the most part if you took care.  A good couple of days in good company.

Ploughing a way to the summit

Zigzag Mounatineering

Today I have been working for West Coast Alpine Guides with Ed, Steve and Frankie.  We went for a mountaineering day up the Zigzags and into SCNL, looking at some skills as we went.  Both Ed and Steve have done quite a bit, and wanted to look at looking after a second on winter/scrambling ground.  So they took it in turns guiding Frankie (who was more that confident) to the top.  We added in a few different steps here and there, which meant it was more of a Zig today.

Steve enjoying the way up

Digging machines

 Once on the top we walked along the ridge to the corie before the weather started to deteriorate.  It was more wet snow on a Southerly wind falling.  The snow pack was pretty wet for the first 6 inches, then you got back into dry, chalky windslab.  We dropped down out of the corie and dug some bucket seats and buried axes, before mooching back down.  It was raining at 800m and felt pretty warm.

And relax

Bolton Boys School Hit the East

I have been working with Bolton Boys School over in the Cairngorm this weekend, with challenging weather and a ski road that is closed.  Despite all this, we have nade the most of the time and managed to achieve a lot of what they wanted.  On Saturday we walked up Meall a Bhuachaille and managed to find some excellent snow to work on.  It was firm enough to kick steps, crampon and slide on.  This meant we could have a great session, then journey to the summit.  The wind was strong, but we where sheltered from the worst of it until walking to the top.  A breezy walk down to the bothy and then a leisurely walk out ended it good day.

Breezy to the summit

Today was meant to be a climbing day.  The weather and conditions on the hill made this a pretty impossible task.  Add in the fact they needed to be away at a sensible time to drive home, and we came up with a session at Newtyle Quarry.  Not quite winter climbing, but as close as we could get under the circumstances.  All the guys managed to climb the M4 and 5 and few did really well on the 5+.  It was a real education for them to see what axes and crampons could do, and discuss how this would transfer to on the hill.